mercredi 25 février 2009

PM Harper: Withdraw Proposed Amendments to NWPA from C-10A

E-mail Prime Minister Harper & your MP and urge them to withdraw the proposed amendments to the Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA) from C-10, the Budget Implementation Act.

Dear Prime Minister Harper,

I am writing to you as a Canadian citizen who has serious concerns about the proposed amendments to the Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA) and the consequences for marine travel and ocean conservation. Therefore, I am urging you to withdraw the proposed amendments to the Navigable Waters Protection Act from C-10, the Budget Implementation Act.

The proposed changes to the NWPA will have serious impacts on the historic public right to navigate our waterways, our ability to protect our natural environment, the deregulation of protection of navigable waters and the reduction of public transparency and accountability.

We understand the current economic crisis requires urgent action but our prosperity depends on the health of our environment. When we protect public access to waterways in Canada, we are also protecting the natural environment of those waterways. The protection of our oceans and rivers and the rights of the public must not be compromised in the pursuit of short term economic stimulus.

The NWPA is essential federal legislation. There are clearly administrative inefficiencies within the NWPA that need to be corrected but the Budget Implementation Act is not the appropriate way or means to make those changes. Canadians want careful consideration of changes to the NWPA with broad public consultation and meaningful consideration of the heritage right of public navigation. I am urging you to withdraw the proposed changes to the NWPA from Bill C-10 and initiate a process to determine what changes are necessary to both protect the health of our oceans and rivers and address the administrative inefficiencies.

Sincerely,

Paul Malouf
(source: Living Ocean Society)

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